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Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Retaining Walls?

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What happens if something damages or destroys your retaining wall? Will a homeowner’s insurance claim pay for the repairs? The short answer is yes, home insurance will cover the retaining wall repair if it was damaged by a covered peril unless the insurer explicitly lists retaining walls as not covered.

Retaining walls can be crucial for the structure of a home. They allow for drainage and hold back mud and dirt from moving into your space. For a home that is backed by a large hill, it’s only natural to worry about the structure’s soundness. It may not seem like much at the time, but the slow-moving earth approaching your doorstep is just as ominous as it sounds.

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Retaining walls are considered detached structures in relation to your home. These buildings and objects are usually covered by other structures coverage (Coverage B) of the standard home insurance. There are a few types of damage to your retaining wall that insurance will take care of, like wind, hail, and fire. 

It’s always important to pay close attention to the phrases used in your policy, though. Some companies might explain that retaining wall damage will only be handled by additional coverages. 

Plus, insurance companies will look at the cause of your retaining wall damage before determining if it could have been prevented. In this case, you’ll be spending your time and money repairing the retaining wall yourself. 

Keep reading to find out exactly what is, and isn’t covered by standard homeowners insurance. We’ll get into what you should do to protect your home and wallet from retaining wall damage.

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Necessary add-on coverages for homeowners with retaining walls

Your standard home insurance will cover all or part of the costs incurred to repair or replace your home and its contents. As an extension, the outbuildings of your property are also covered. This is the umbrella your retaining wall falls under. 

Detached structures on your property may only be covered for up to 10% of your policy’s overall dwelling coverage. If your policy covers $100,000 worth of damage, your retaining wall will only be eligible for $10,000 worth of repairs. 

Your homeowners policy likely covers damage caused by sudden events, like fire, vandalism, and lightning. In this case, if lightning strikes your retaining wall, your policy will cover the damage.

Unfortunately, there are a few unforeseen events that are excluded from this list of perils. Ground and soil issues are not typically covered by a standalone home insurance policy. This includes events like landslides, sinkholes, mudflows, or earthquakes.

You will need supplemental coverage if you believe your retaining wall is in danger of being flawed due to a shift in the earth. This is much like how you need to have flood insurance in areas prone to flooding.

A retaining wall’s primary purpose is to keep the earth where it’s supposed to be. Let’s look at the different types of supplements available and when it’s necessary to opt for them. 

Earth Movement Coverage

The National Earthquake Information Center now calculates that there are about 20,000 global earthquakes each year. That’s about 55 earthquakes a day! If you’re located in an area prone to earth movement, this type of coverage add-on may be necessary to protect your retaining wall. 

Earth movement coverage protects your property from natural, sudden movements in or beneath the soil. This includes earthquakes, landslides, and more. Essentially, if the ground sinks, shifts, rises, contracts, or expands, insurance should cover any damage.

It’s important to consider the terminologies used by insurance companies. This extension won’t cover some natural earth movements. For example, a mudflow and a landslide are different.

A mudflow occurs when excessive rain saturates the earth and causes it to shift. Consequently, the primary ingredient for a mudflow is water. As such, retaining wall damage caused by this event is usually covered by flood insurance instead.

Ambiguous language used in these policies has sparked debate in the past. Always make sure to go over this extension with your insurance providers. This way, you can make sure you’re aware of what is (and isn’t) considered a covered earth movement. 

Mine Subsidence Coverage

The US is riddled with thousands of abandoned underground coal, gold, diamond, and clay mines. Since these sites are old and unkept, the mine shafts and tunnels are slowly collapsing under the weight of the earth. 

Houses built over these mines are susceptible to land shifts and cave-ins. If your home is a hot spot for this type of earth movement, damage to your retaining wall likely won’t be covered by your standard homeowners insurance.

When the ground moves, gravity can cause sinkholes, which can cause massive damage to the structures built over a mine. Subsidence damage is defined as impairments caused by shifting earth from artificial structures. Unlike earthquakes and landslides, a mine is not a natural occurrence, which is why this event isn’t covered by earth movement coverage.  

Mine subsidence insurance is offered to homeowners in problem areas to protect them from the costs of damage caused by underground mines. If your retaining wall is slowly shifting due to the soil’s response to gravity over a mine shaft, a mine subsidence add-on is right for you. 

Conclusion

When a retaining wall fails, you’ll be hard-pressed to call your insurance company right away. After reading the details in this blog post, you should be able to tell if this is worth your time or not. 

If you have a retaining wall, you need to maintain them regularly. Maintaining these structures helps reduce risks and prevent unsightly costs. This is especially the case for those in areas susceptible to mudslides, mine collapses, landslides, or earthquakes. 

Speaking of earthquakes, earth movement coverage, and other add-ons may be able to make up for whatever your standard insurance doesn’t cover. It’s important to remember that not all policies are made the same, and yours may not cover a retaining wall at all. 

In any case, going over your policy is always a good idea. This way, you can understand the kind of damage handled by your insurer. Talk with a professional today and guarantee that your home’s structures are covered.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Lauren Bell is a data analyst by day, content writer and editor by night. When she’s not making data discoveries, she’s writing about them! She also enjoys writing about lifestyle and finance; two of her favorite topics.

As an Arkansas native, Lauren loves the fresh air. When she’s not hard at work in front of a computer, you could catch her spending time on an outdoor adventure with her two kids.

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